Once upon a time, I had no children. When I cleaned, I just cleaned up after myself. The vast majority of my efforts were super basic with no bizarre explanations involved — and then I became a mom. Over the past 14 years, I've grown accustomed to tilting my head to the side while trying to identify the origin of the mess before me — and these are some of the biggest cleaning surprises I've encountered since entering motherhood:

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1. Never-ending piles of laundry

Newborns can't walk, talk, or roll over, but they can make a mean mess. I never understood why people with babies complained about ridiculous amounts of extra laundry, because I didn't realize these tiny people make huge, outfit-destroying messes multiple times a day. And they don't only destroy their own outfits. Each day my clothes also ended up with smudged slobber, snot, spit-up, or worse.

2. Urine-sprayed nursery walls

I used to consider washing the walls a spring cleaning task (not that I actually did it). With baby boys, wall-washing is a something you do every time you aren't quick enough getting a new diaper in place. Who knew urine could shoot so high that I'd need a full-sized ladder to clean the wall?

3. Mysterious smears on glass windows

As kids grow, their messes change. Gone were the days of lamenting fingerprints by doorknobs. I learned to look down. At knee-level, our glass doors (and any accessible windows) were covered in handprints, slobbery kisses, and greenish translucent trails of I-don't-want-to-know-what.

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4. Messes that turn into snacks

The first rule of cleaning when you have toddlers: Clean it before he eats it. Dead bugs on the windowsill? Lone raisin under the couch? Dribble of ice cream down the front of a cabinet door? Messes I used to procrastinate cleaning up became races so I wouldn't have to dig into a mouth full of surprisingly sharp teeth.

5. Art that doesn't stay on the paper

As we moved out of the toddler phase, the kids' imaginations grew — and their messes showed their budding creativity. Read: Playdough in the carpet and crayon doodles on the walls. And we lived for years with the reappearing beauty of "syrup art" after breakfast that was lovingly poured out by my 3-year-old on the living room carpet.

6. Failed attempts to help mom

After painting our bathroom one time, I casually mentioned wanting to paint our enclosed porch. I was surprised (read: horrified) to find out that the kids had taken the initiative to help me. Apparently, watching mom was all the training they needed! Sure, the thought was nice, but I hadn't envisioned a scribble motif for that room.

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7. Blue spider webs that won't go away

Once the kids were in school, they were ready for cooler toys. I didn't stress out when my son immediately shot blue webs of Silly String out of the Spiderman toy he opened up on his birthday, because I assumed I'd be able to knock them down from the ceiling as easily as a real spider web. Eight years later, people still ask what that blue stuff is on my ceiling.

8. Toys with teeny tiny parts

Growing past the age where smaller-than-your-mouth toys are forbidden was a relief. However, it came with it's own challenges, like LEGOs all over the floor (ouch!) and Nerf darts found under every single piece of furniture — and once even in the deep freezer.

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9. Blankets from outdoor adventures

And I was even more relieved when they outgrew their constant toy clutter. But somehow my house still didn't stay magically clean without those things. Independence meant more adventures, like backyard campouts that resulted in leaf-covered blankets in my living room. Now I consider tweezers an essential laundry tool.

10. The bottom of overnight duffle bags

A week at camp brings all kinds of surprises home, like wet bathing suits crammed together with the four pairs of completely clean, never-worn-since-the-moment-you-packed-them undies. My advice? Wash it all.

11. Unrelenting teenage odors

Does a kid who is perfectly happy with a video game controller and a basketball still cause messes? Yes. Definitely yes. Even though there aren't as many toys strewn across the house, we now deal with that unique challenge called Teenage Boy Smell. Like those baby years, I've come to terms with the fact that that I just have to do more laundry for now.

12. Hidden messes meant to stay hidden

The biggest frustration of all is my teen boys' complete lack of awareness of my mess in the background of their selfies! A pile of laundry is not a proper background for a lip-sync video. Even though I'm currently dealing with this annoying struggle, I know someday I might actually miss all of this.